Sigma 35mm f/1.2 First Impressions

With the recent release of the Sigma 35mm f1.2 and having one in my hands, I thought I would put together my initial thoughts.

First off, let’s just be open about it… it’s big. If for some obscure reason you were expecting something small, the f/1.2 makes this a big piece of glass. It’s a big honking piece of steel and in some countries, this might be classified as a weapon. To put it into perspective, it’s close in size and weight to the 135mm ART. Continue reading “Sigma 35mm f/1.2 First Impressions”

Dunning Kruger effect and photography

After yet another post from someone vastly overestimating their abilities, I thought it was time to remind people of the Dunning Kruger effect and it’s impact on photography. The post in question came from someone who was complaining about the performance of the Tamron 28-75mm and The Sigma Art 24mm and indicating how they needed to get the 24mm G Master and a 16-35mm G Master. Continue reading “Dunning Kruger effect and photography”

Where is the small / medium raw, Sony?

The A7Riv has been released and on paper, the specs look amazing. but there is one glaring shortfall I am utterly confused as to why Sony missed, particularly with a camera with this megapixel count.

Small / medium raw

There will be usual Sony apologists who try to defend the decision, but the reality is the A7Riv would be a better camera if they included it and including small / medium raw wouldn’t impact the users who don’t use it. Continue reading “Where is the small / medium raw, Sony?”

Sony hurting the industry with innovation?

For those who missed it, Petapixel posted a rediculous opinion piece that Sony was hurting the industry by innovating and cycling their cameras too quickly. If you haven’t read it, here it is:

Is Sony’s Pace of Innovation Actually Hurting the Photo Industry?

The gist of the article is that by moving so quickly, the rest of the industry is being left behind and somehow thats Sony’s fault. Continue reading “Sony hurting the industry with innovation?”

Choosing between Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 & 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6

To kick things off, let me say there are no winners or losers. This is like a competition between toddlers at pre-school where everyone gets a prize. This isn’t a direct technical comparison between the two and it isn’t about proving you should buy one in particular. This is about guidance on how I made the choice between the two. Continue reading “Choosing between Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 & 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6”

Wandrd Prvke 21 Review

Wandirit…wanderierier…wanduriddd…yeah, that’s what it looks like. Apparently it’s said Wandered Provoke but for some obscure reason, the designers forgot to add vowels to their bag, maybe letters cost money. I assume it’s an artistic novelty but it does make it a little hard to recommend the bag to a mate when his spell check keeps screwing up the name. Continue reading “Wandrd Prvke 21 Review”

The importance of using good displays

I saw a thread in one of the Sony groups where people were posting their desktops. It was the usual mix of machines, Windows and OSX, desktops and laptops, nothing out of the norm for photographers except for one little discrepancy. What struck me as odd was the focus on power over quality.

You may think I am talking about Mac vs PC but hopefully the title was a giveaway. When it comes to post processing photos, one of the most important considerations is the display because ultimately you are editing colour and to edit colour, you have to know that colour is accurate. The irony is that people select their cameras because of the relatively minor differences in colour, they complain that some lenses offer differences in colour, and they complain that the white balances of a camera has a big impact. Continue reading “The importance of using good displays”